After reading Brad Hardt's post:

Like Brad's post, I've heard our city is getting calls, "Can someone please come turn off our water?" If their house is flooding it is a little late.

Folks, If you know you have one frozen pipe inside a wall right now, and your water is on, go turn it off at the meter. If not the meter use the whole house shut off for the time being if you have one not buried under landscaping mulch. Get what you need to get past the thaw, but turn it off for now before you flood your home.

Maybe Saturday or Sunday, whenever there has been plenty of time for a good inside the wall thaw, get your game plan down for turning the water back on. This easy little procedure could be the difference between having a simple pipe repair or being homeless during remodeling.

Assuming you are using everything in the house right now, except for whatever you know is frozen, all the lines are pressurized. Water meters are very sensitive. You can literally take a snapshot of the needle on the meter, come back in an hour or so, and if the needle is past your mark in your snapshot at all you have a leak. Meters can detect a drip.

When you are ready to turn it back on just watch the meter. If it really whirls turn the water off. There is a leak. If your lines are all still pressurized it may still move just a little, but should quickly stop. Still....If you are skeptical about a water leak take a snapshot of the meter. Come back in a few minutes, hour or so, and reconfirm. Just make sure the family doesn't use any water fixtures during this little test.

On some meters if you really look closely there may be what looks like a watch gear in a little half moon shaped window. About the time the water is completely pressurized that gear may rock back and forth a little and then come to a standstill. That is good. Relax. If I remember correctly some meters have a few needles, a big one for your billing, and the last one for sensitivity.

Lastly, here it is with the temp going back down for the night. If you haven't flooded the house yet you can probably wait until in the morning to do this. With that said, if you have been without electricity and have had a cold home, and now your home is warm, that one pipe could flow tonight.

Good Luck!

If you own a house, you should know where your water cut-off is. Don't call the fire department to turn your water off. They have better things to do.

Well articulated.

It’s been happening for days and will continue for days. People just don’t care to take care of their own business. They know someone else will because that’s all they’ve ever known.

I really wish yall could tell them to eff off.

Had to shut my neighbors off on Tuesday. He asked if I knew where HIS shutoff was. I thought to myself, "Yes I do. I am a man."

Incorrect

It's part of their job as City Employees.

Actually it's not..

Actually it is

They take turn off water meters when houses flood, the also turn off gas meters when they suspect a gas leak.

Part of the job

Actually they aren't even allowed to turn off gas in some places unless it's a true emergency..they are supposed to call the gas company

Just because they will turn off water doesn't mean it's part of the job, even if it is part of the job people shouldn't be taking up their time with tasks that could easily be done themselves

I see them turn of gas to house/business monthly, They have been turning off water meters for flooding house forever. If you live in some ghetto city that doesn't offer that service then I suggest you move. All Cities I have dealts with in my area the Fire Department offers that as part of serving the community.

Many people have no access to the water meter by the street, they don't have the key or handle to turn it off, and legally they are not suppose to touch it. Some area in the country will give you ticket if you open the meter box and turn off the water, even plumbers have to wait for the city to come and turn off the water for them in parts of the USA.

Why not keep it simple and add a cutoff yourself?

I don't know who's "job" it is to turn a meter on or off. I just know I've always done whatever I wanted to with it. I thought all men who could use basic tools can turn a meter on or off.

I bet with my wife just recently doing her thing in the flower beds that our whole house shutoff is under mulch. I know I can find it. However I also know where the meter is. I protected it from this freeze. And if turning it off myself vs. waiting on a rural water supply would prevent a flood I'm on it.

The exercise I described in the OP can also save you a plumber call to determine if you have a leak. Good luck getting a plumber in the next month if you need one.

We are required to have a shutoff by our house and NOT turn the water off at the meter.

Problem solved.. J P does not own THF for no reason.

Same here, it’s right next to the meter box. But the meter is easier to turn off.

Where did you get that idea from?

Even if it is their job your house will be flooded before they get there.

It doesn't really matter if it is the responsibility of the fire department to turn your water off if called on. Unless you live in an apartment, you need to know how to turn off your own water. If you don't understand that, it probably can't be explained to you.

This is the kind of thinking that set the Colorado City mayor off.

He has seen them do it monthly so just knows it is a job requirement

it's funny 'cuz it's true.

My water softener line running into the house froze up and the bypass didn't work so I cut it off at the house and I called the water dept about cutting it off at the main and they stated they wanted to do it. Not sure about this softener and if they hadn't shut it off themselves I would have tomorrow morning. Now the wait for the thaw. 10 feet of line I didn't wrap well enough. My fault.

I have a break in my water softness line where it T's off my regular line. I plan to leave that alone for a while. Water softeners are a wimmings thing.

I now see why Biden got more votes than Trump. Our country is polluted with stupid a$$ people.

If you own a house you do have access to the city cutoff and you can turn it off without the 'special' tool. I'm having a hard time with this decision....do I turn it off, saving my house from getting flooded and risk getting a ticket thats about .05% odds I get or do I leave it be and make a phone call.

F--ck me tough decision!